A new space race emerges as NASA prepares to award contract to ferry supplies to space station

Lugging groceries and supplies to the astronauts on the International Space Station may not be as cool as ferrying the astronauts themselves into orbit. But the NASA contract to fly cargo to the station in unmanned rocket ships has attracted bids from high-profilecompanies in what analysts say is another indication of commercial spaceflights recent renaissance.

It appears that at least five space firms have submitted proposals for the work, including giants such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, which didn't bother to bidon the work the last time. In a new sort of space race, the contract has touched off an intense competition between stalwart defense contractors and new space start-ups that have, in just a few years, shown they can compete.

Years ago, NASA implemented a plan to outsource transportation to the space station in low Earth orbit, saying that, with a tight budget, it needed to be focused on bigger targets, such as Mars.

Some members of Congress and others criticized the decision, saying that private industry could not be trusted with such high-stakes work and that the business of spaceflight should be left to NASA. But in the years since, NASAs decision to rely on commercial companies helped ignite the commercial space industry, which, backed by new infusions of cash and with more launches to its credit, has grown more robust.

For the past few years, two companies have been resupplying the space station, taking supplies and experiments to the orbital laboratory. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musks SpaceX won a $1.6 billion contract, and so far has had five successful trips, and is scheduled for a sixth in April.

On Jan. 10, SpaceXs Falcon 9 was launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral to deliver more than two tons of supplies and science experiments to the Expedition 42 crew aboard the International Space Station. (NASA)

The other company to win the cargo contract, Orbital Sciences, now Orbital ATK, had its unmanned rocket explode shortly after takeofflast year.That raised questions about whether NASA should be relying on the commercial sector so heavily.

But at NASA, the explosion did not dampen enthusiasm for outsourcing the work. Thats in part because of SpaceXs success. But also because given the NASAs tight budgets, it doesnt really have a choice but to hire contractors to do the work for it, analysts said.

The private space industryhas been buoyed by billionaires, such as Musk, Richard Branson, who owns Virgin Galactic, and Jeff Bezos, the Amazon.com founder who owns Blue Origin (as well as the Washington Post).

But now others are looking to invest in space as well. On a recent trip to Silicon Valley, Eric Stallmer, the president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said many other investors had a palpable fear-of-missing-out vibe.

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A new space race emerges as NASA prepares to award contract to ferry supplies to space station